'Engineering Explained' shows how quickly your engine can breathe

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As Jason Fenske of "Engineering Explained" demonstrates, the engine under the hood of your car is nothing more than a glorified air pump. To better illustrate this, Fenske zip-ties a pair of big balloons to the exhaust of his Honda S2000.

Fenske says that the 2.0-liter I4 in his Honda can use all the air in a two-car garage in about 12 minutes at wide-open throttle. He then explains that the Bugatti Chiron, the Veyron’s successor, can consume the same amount of air in only 1.8 minutes, or about 108 seconds. He shows his formula in the video above.

Of course, Fenske isn’t going to redline his Honda for the sake of science -- it just idles away while the balloons fill. There isn’t much risk to slapping a couple balloons to your tailpipe, but Fenske warns that he still doesn’t suggest you try this at home. His concern is the added back pressure caused by the pressure inside the balloon could cause damage to your engine.

If you’ve ever wanted to watch a Honda S2000 fill big balloons with exhaust (and really, who hasn't?) –- your time has come. Check out the video above.